FirstPlus, a home loan company perhaps best known for featuring Miami Dolphins star quarterback Dan Marino in its television ads, is among finance companies that have been the subject of consumer complaints, according to the Michigan attorney general.

In fact, Attorney General Frank Kelley said Tuesday the Michigan Financial Institutions Bureau (FIB) announced its intent to issue a cease-and-desist order against the company for making "false, misleading and deceptive" mail solicitations on second home mortgage loans. Such loans are often used for home improvements and debt consolidation.

In a prepared statement, FirstPlus said late Thursday it voluntarily suspended all direct mail solicitations in Michigan pending a Sept 23 hearing on allegations it made false statements in its solicitations. The company also said suspending the solicitations would not hurt profits and that it thought its mailing list was made up of residential addresses.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office said there had been "a fair number of consumer complaints about this company and other companies. Attorney General Kelley is very concerned about the second mortgage racket," he said.

In its offer to the customer who worked in the government building, FirstPlus made the mistake of making the offer to an assistant attorney general who oversees mortgage lenders

The mailed advertisement to the assistant attorney general, whose name could not immediately be obtained, stated he could receive a $42,800 second mortgage on the state office building where he works at 525 West Ottawa in Lansing, the state capital.

The building, named after former Gov. G. Mennen Williams, is the workplace for hundreds of employees and contains offices of not only the Michigan attorney general, but the Michigan Supreme Court and another state department, according to staffers.

Dallas-based FirstPlus is alleged to have violated the Mortgage Brokers, Lenders and Servicers Licensing Act (MBLSLA) and the Secondary Mortgage Loan Act (SMLA).

FirstPlus, which also does business as FirstPlus Direct and FirstPlus Freedom, mailed notices throughout Michigan offering consumers second mortgages.

"It is evident that FirstPlus has not performed the necessary diligence to reasonably make such an offer to consumers," according to a press release from Kelley's office.

The Michigan attorney general's office said FirstPlus had failed to determine whether consumers would actually be eligible for the amount offered by the company because it offers the same amount of money to each consumer. This type of solicitation, they said, is false, misleading and deceptive.

Under the Secondary Mortgage Loan Act, a hearing has been scheduled on the FirstPlus matter for Sept 23.

FirstPlus, which said it heard about the Michigan attorney general's threat Thursday, said in a press release it would address the allegations at the hearing.

FirstPlus, which also does direct lending at kiosks at major Sports events, said it voluntarily suspended all direct mail solicitations in Michigan. During the six-month period ended June 30, about 2 per cent of the firm's loans were made in Michigan.

Kelley's spokesman said second mortgage loans, which are marketed as a tool for debt consolidation, do not solve financial woes for many people and put their homes at greater risk. He noted that some finance companies offer loans worth up to 125 per cent of the value of a borrower's home.

FirstPlus said it purchases mailing lists from National marketing list providers.